Khmer→English

Translate Khmer to English the way locals mean it.

Khmer speakers soften refusals, rely on context, and use kinship terms as pronouns, so a literal translation can sound more definite, distant, or intimate than the message really is.

Going the other way? English to Khmer

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Khmer varieties

What locals actually say

អត់អីទេ បង

No worries.

អត់អីទេ literally means “there is nothing,” but it is a conventional reassurance after an apology or small mistake; បង is a respectful or familiar form of address, not necessarily a biological older sibling.

ចាំមើលសិន

Let me see, I can’t promise yet.

ចាំ...សិន literally means “wait...first,” but this construction often softens a delay or noncommittal answer rather than promising that someone will simply check.

បានហើយៗ

Okay, okay, I get it.

បានហើយ marks completion, while repeating it can signal impatience or a wish to end the explanation, not just confirm that something has been finished.

លុយអស់ហើយ

I’m broke.

អស់លុយ uses អស់ to signal that something has been completely used up, a common colloquial way to say there is no money left.

ទៅតាមផ្លូវនេះទៅ ដល់ភ្លើងស្តុបហើយបត់ស្តាំ

Go down this road, then turn right at the traffic light.

The repeated ទៅ gives the direction a natural conversational imperative, while ហើយ marks the next step in the route.

ញ៉ាំអីមិនទាន់?

Have you eaten yet?

អី is the casual spoken form of អ្វី, and the short question leaves the subject unstated, as is natural in everyday Khmer.

ម៉ែខ្ញុំឲ្យខ្ញុំទៅយកកូននៅសាលា

My mom told me to pick up the child from school.

ម៉ែ is the familiar everyday word for mother, less formal than ម្តាយ, and ឲ្យ introduces the instruction or causative action.

ថ្ងៃនេះក្តៅហួសហេតុ

It’s unbearably hot today.

ហួសហេតុ literally signals going beyond what is reasonable, adding strong colloquial emphasis to the heat.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Khmer differs

Khmer (Phnom Penh standard); register-appropriate pronouns and honorifics; formal register for documents.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way